Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Peter John Thwaites points to Dubai on a map of the Middle East, during his visit to The Gleaner Company's North Street office, Kingston, on Monday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

FORMER president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Peter John Thwaites, is pushing for an enterprise team from Jamaica to visit Dubai. He believes this country's leaders should obtain a blueprint for that Middle East nation's success.

Thwaites recently returned from his second visit to the oil-rich state, one of seven countries that form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He told The Gleaner that he was "blown away" by the remarkable strides Dubai had made in the past three decades.

"I think our leaders, (Prime Minister) Bruce Golding and (Foreign Affairs Minister) Ken Baugh, should lead an official delegation of Jamaican businessmen there, talk to the Sheik and find out what he has done, and how he has done it in the last 30 years," Thwaites said.

Family reunion

In December, Thwaites and his wife Mary travelled to Dubai to visit their daughter, Nancy, her husband Warren and their three children. Warren, a pilot with Dubai's Emirates airline, is the son of Kenneth Baugh.

Warren Baugh was formerly employed by Air Jamaica but moved to Dubai two years ago after the local airline downsized. Thwaites said there are over 50 Jamaican pilots currently living and working in Dubai, some of them for Emirates Airlines, Dubai's largest airline.

He said while oil is largely responsible for making Dubai a jewel in the UAE crown, the vision of its leader, Prime Minister Mahmoud bin Rashid Al Maktoum, must not be overlooked. With its oil reserves projected to diminish significantly in less than 10 years, Thwaites said Al Maktoum is preparing to tap into other areas.

Tourism is their thing

"He's decided that tourism is their thing, so they are building hotels and it's not government doing this, it's entrepreneurs from overseas," Thwaites said. "They (Dubai) do business primarily with Asia and Europe, so they fly as a hub between those two continents," he added. "We sit in Jamaica between South America and North America and the rest of the world, why can't we be a hub between those?"

Prime Minister Al Maktoum has not only made sun, sand and sea tourism's driving force. He has introduced high-profile golf tournaments, a top-flight racetrack where European jockeys ride in the winter, and meticulously preserved the country's historical sites.

"We could do the same here at the track (Caymanas Park) and Port Royal," Thwaites said.

The wealthy Al Maktoum family has ruled Dubai for many years. They, along with governors in neighbouring emirates, signed a treaty in 1971 which established the UAE, a conglomerate of small nations that have enjoyed tremendous development mainly through their massive oil resources.

Just over 1.5 million people live in Dubai, which is roughly the size of a Jamaican county. Most of them are immigrants from Pakistan, India and The Phillipines.